And so it begins.
It starts with a “few thousand” to help with the legitimate goal of stopping terrorism. But since we have them in place, why not have them checking on the doings of regular folk, too. Never know when Joe down the street might start protesting or doing other subversive stuff. Can’t have regular citizens complaining about their government. That interferes with the war (and profit for our friends) effort.
Pretty soon, more and more are enlisted because this program and others have been so successful at rooting out dangerous (and pre-dangerous) people. Posters (well, today it would be TV ads) go up advocating making sure your neighbors are being good citizens and reporting anything unusual. Next step is prosecuting those who don’t report something. And so on.
What, you say? Bush & Co, who constantly talk about our free country, would never want to impose fascist laws like that? Odd how Bush’s grandfather apparently had no qualms about doing so plus a lot more.
Remind anyone of places like East Germany and the USSR? Enjoy the enveloping safety provided by your government (and you trust them in all things, right? RIGHT?!?) and don’t say no one ever warned you, Comrade.
The FBI is taking cues from the CIA to recruit thousands of covert informants in the United States as part of a sprawling effort to boost its intelligence capabilities.
According to a recent unclassified report to Congress, the FBI expects its informants to provide secrets about possible terrorists and foreign spies, although some may also be expected to aid with criminal investigations, in the tradition of law enforcement confidential informants. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
The FBI said the push was driven by a 2004 directive from President Bush ordering the bureau to improve its counterterrorism efforts by boosting its human intelligence capabilities.
The aggressive push for more secret informants appears to be part of a new effort to grow its intelligence and counterterrorism efforts. Other recent proposals include expanding its collection and analysis of data on U.S. persons, retaining years’ worth of Americans’ phone records and even increasing so-called “black bag” secret entry operations.
Uncle Dave- – – – you are part of a very subversive blog site.
My natural inclination about all this security stuff is to think “Who Cares” – – my life is too boring to be of interest to anybody, and I suspect everyone else’s life is too, outside of those who need to get caught.
But the constant reporting of dumbass school boards and podunk police actions, and the stupidity of BushCo, really has in just a short time heightened my sensitivity to how abusive authoritarian structures in fact ARE!
I’m not as knee-jerk paranoid as OFTLO is, but I’m on the same path. Thanks for the warning signs?????
can we get free health care for spying on our neighbors?
In Soviet Union, no wait I’m in America, same difference. I predict a resurgence of Yakov Smirnoff, unless he emigrates.
In Soviet Russia, blog reads YOU!
5.
On 9/11/2001, I was 13 years old, sitting in the main office of my junior high school waiting for a secretary to come out so I could deliver her a message from my teacher. On of the ladies in the back office came out with a look of total bewilderment and said:
“look at the news! a plane hit the world trade center!”
Sitting there, in the terribly uncomfortable chair with the note in my hand, I was completely oblivious to the fact that within the next few short years, many of my freedoms as an American citizen were going to be pulled from under me.
In short, I make the Yakov Smirnoff jokes, not in ignorance, but to bring humor and attention to the depressing state that the country is in.
1 – bobbo – OMG, did you follow the link to the YouTube vid about Bush’s grandfather? If so, what is your take on THAT?
Wait……. Bush’s grandpappy was a Nazi?!?
Thats fucking it! WHERES MY GUY FAWKES MASK!
I’m about to go 5th of november up in this bitch!
Who would have thunk it … the tin foil hat crowd was correct. Is it time to start organizing resistance cells?
7–Thanks Dawg. At your prompting I went there. I think before the end of the Great Depression there were many normal Americans looking at Hitler and the Commies for any way to get out of the depression. You would have to be nuts not to look for solutions.
Now actively engaged in a plot to overthrow the government? Possible, but I doubt it.
At this later date, irrelevant anyway. We need to address the concerns of today with todays cogs and levers. It does put me in mind though of the “skull and crossbones” society that Bush and Kerry are members of—and I presume their daddies back to the Mayflower? And the recent shows about “The Masons” all lead to a conspiracy atmosphere.
Why worry about historic improbable conspiracies when what is happening in plain sight today is so outrageous?==Imagine, invading and staying in a country that did nothing to us? THATS hard to believe. Electing congress people to stop the war and have them continue funding–THATS hard to believe. BushCo saying he supports the troops while he cuts VA benefits==THATS hard to believe.
And so on. Thanks on the direction. Keep the good stuff coming.
#1, bobbo:
To paraphrase a common bumper-sticker:
“If you’re not paranoid, you’re not paying attention!”
😉
#1 – I’m not as knee-jerk paranoid as OFTLO is,
I can’t imagine why you would say that… So before I defend myself, maybe it would good to ask what makes you think I am paranoid?
12—From the non-discussion of Surveillance Cameras to be installed in Public Areas in New York City. Your constant analysis was that it was wrong and I was stupid not to know it===I think after a few urgings you came around to something almost responsive, but not really.
Without more detail than is ever available, can we ever be anything but knee jerk or asleep at the wheel? I’m approaching your position more than you are mine.
Get back to work!!
If you’re worried about your neighbors watching you, go out in your yard where they can see you and poop. Most of them will get tired of watching that pretty quickly and stop watching you. Then you can go back to performing your subversive activities in peace.
Really bad idea, having the public turn each other in. I can see people being raided for smoking a joint, etc. And the abuse of this because one person doesn’t like another one is scary. Bad, bad idea.
I can’t wait for the NBC Law and Order show in 2010 ” Ya Got me”.
Oh wait, these were criminals in the making. It’s all good right?
#14 – What on Earth are you talking about?
Here is what I wrote:
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=12549#comment-706263
I am not paranoid. I do not think I’m being watched. I do not think the DEA, NSA, CIA, FBI, AT&T is looking at the records of my supermarket discount card. I don’t think there is a conspiracy against me…
But history has shown over and over that police states abuse citizens, jail innocents, murder citizens, and just because that isn’t happening now doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The United States isn’t magic. It can fail like many many nations before it, and it is showing symptoms now.
I’d rather defend my nation against tyranny by speaking out against (because, really, that’s about all I can do) the kind of pervasive surveillance and policing tactics we are employing in pursuit of our boogeymen, and against the politics of fear being used to shepard the herd into submission… because that is what a real patriot does…
You say paranoia… You must be thinking of the loonbats who join militia groups and put up 9/11 conspiracy sites…
I’m vigilant. That’s a different thing.
#10 – bobbo – Not overthrow the government so much as CHANGE the government, especially since they ARE the government.
Added to the Patriot Act, Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders have resulted in quite a bit of change, especially in light of the fact that Congress seems to be MIA.
Yet I remain hopeful that an informed citizenry can halt the slide.